The Drop

Thomas chats with Zach Litoff, a San Francisco based artist and designer with a love of athletics who as done work for clients like Hoka, Nike, Endorphins Running, and more.
Follow Zach on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/litoffstudios

We know everyone was concerned, but yes, we did in fact live through the 2025 Baltimore Tornado (though sadly many of the trees in our favorite little park did not). In other news, Summer GRIT registration opens on Monday at 9 a.m. ET! You know the drill, so make sure you get in before it sells out. We also try and figure out how a brand new pair of Jordans are the same price as an entry level running shoe. Speaking of running shoes, we also go more in-depth on the New Balance FuelCell Rebel v5.

Learn more and register for Summer GRIT: https://believeintherun.com/grit

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

LMNT

NEW FLAVOR ALERT! Squeeze the most out of summer with LMNT’s new limited-time Lemonade Salt — salty, tart, and refreshing, it brings you the best of summer wherever you are.

Get your free 8-count LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase: http://drinklmnt.com/thedrop

SWIFTWICK

The best running socks in the game, Swiftwick is made right here in the USA, which means no price increases on account of tariffs. We're always running in their socks and you should be too. The Drop listeners can get 15% off their first purchase with code BELIEVE15.

Shop here: https://swiftwick.com/collections/believe

PILLAR

Ensuring NN Running athletes continue to take podiums and claim records, PILLAR Performance gets them to start lines in the best condition possible. Recovery is crucial to managing training loads, and adequately preparing for race day. This is why PILLAR's Triple Magnesium provides a high dosage of Magnesium Bisglycinate to boost the recovery score on your wearable.

Enter code BITR on The Feed to receive 15% off your first order, and track the difference yourself:

https://thefeed.com/products/pillar-performance

LAGOON PILLOWS

We use Lagoon to get our best sleep and you should too. Featuring super soft covers, Certi-Pur foam and customizable features, they'll help you find the best pillow for your sleeping style. Visit them at http://lagoonsleep.com/believe and use the discount code BELIEVE for 15% off your first order.

INDEX

00:00 INTRO

00:48 - Summer GRIT and Upcoming Events

12:20 - Public Etiquette

18:43 - Brooklyn Half

20:16 - Traction on the Adidas Pro Evo 2

25:31 - Running Shoe Talk

34:18 - Toe Talk

37:28 - Tornado in Baltimore

44:54 - Country Music

48:21 - Move Her Mind Event Series

1:02:17 - Zyn City

1:07:18 - More Running and Shoe Talk

1:13:45 - New Balance Rebel V5

1:30:41 - Miscellaneous Nonsense

Thomas sits town with Taesun Kim, footwear designer at Puma, to chat all about running shoes and his background.

Baltimore is on the rebound and we're doing our best to keep the ball bouncing. Speaking of bouncing, we pinball around from organ donation to Skechers stock, to Meg's very desirable Beanie Babies collection. We also talk about the Brooks Ghost Max 3 and Brooks Ghost 17, since this is a shoe review channel, after all.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!
LA SPORTIVA
Introducing the Prodigio Pro Running Shoe from La Sportiva—crafted for ultrarunners, trail addicts, or anyone chasing their next big effort. With XFlow Speed, a dual-super critical nitrogen-infused EVA and TPU midsole technology, AND an ultralight Power Wire mesh upper - it’s responsive, durable, and ready for any terrain. Go farther, go faster! Get our full thoughts on one of the best trail shoes of 2025 and pick it up at the link in the review: https://believeintherun.com/shoe-reviews/la-sportiva-prodigio-pro-review/
Shop the La Sportiva Prodigio Pro: https://alnk.to/6mRuqAT
SWIFTWICK
The best running socks in the game, we're always running in the Flite XT and you should be too. The Drop listeners can get 15% off their first purchase with code BELIEVE15. Shop here: https://swiftwick.com/collections/believe
LMNT
NEW FLAVOR ALERT! Just in time for summer, LMNT just dropped an all-new Lemonade Salt flavor and it may be their best one yet. We've been crushing it after every run to restore our salt and electrolyte supplies. Get your free 8-count LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase: http://drinklmnt.com/thedrop

PILLAR

Ensuring NN Running athletes continue to take podiums and claim records, PILLAR Performance gets them to start lines in the best condition possible. Recovery is crucial to managing training loads, and adequately preparing for race day. This is why PILLAR's Triple Magnesium provides a high dosage of Magnesium Bisglycinate to boost the recovery score on your wearable. Enter code BITR on The Feed to receive 15% off your first order, and track the difference yourself: ⁠https://thefeed.com/products/pillar-performance
INDEX
00:00 - Intro
4:47 - Meg's trip to NYC with Superfeet / Move Her Mind Ridgefield
13:32 - Move Her Mind Event Series (Meg’s media, )
15:06 - Organ donation
21:50 - Asics Metaspeed Tokyo Edge/Sky
27:55 - Thomas’s weekend trail race
34:17 - Robbe’s weekend in PA
47:25 - Training talk
59:20 - 5 Hour Energies and B-Vitamins
1:03:00 - Skechers Stock and hurricane cash machines
1:07:35 - Princess Diana Beanie Babies
1:17:20 - Shoe talk (Brooks Ghost Max 3, Brook Ghost 17)
1:28:02 - Turnstile's Hometown Gig

Bimma Williams is a Collab Marketing Educator recognized by HYPEBEAST as The Voice of Collabs. With over a decade of experience, he has helped brands like Nike, Yeezy, adidas, and Saucony generate $1.5 billion+ in revenue through strategic collaborations.

His insights have been featured in Forbes, Complex, Business Insider, HYPEBEAST, UPROXX, and VIBE. His viral Instagram series, Collab Lab, has reached 15 million views in 12 months, breaking down what makes brand partnerships successful.

Follow Bimma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bimmawilliams

Back to Baltimore, which means more running and more package thieves coming after the summer 2025 Saucony collection. We recap our saga of tracking down shoes, while running in some sizzling heaters for the summer, including the Brooks Hyperion Max 3, Nike Streakfly 2, and Adidas Adios Pro Evo 2. Karl also wraps up his London experience.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

LA SPORTIVA

Introducing the Prodigio Pro running shoe from La Sportiva—crafted for ultrarunners, trail addicts, or anyone chasing their next big effort. With XFlow Speed, a dual-super critical nitrogen-infused EVA and TPU midsole technology, AND an ultralight Power Wire mesh upper - it’s responsive, durable, and ready for any terrain. Go farther, go faster!

Get our full thoughts on one of the best trail shoes of 2025: https://believeintherun.com/shoe-reviews/la-sportiva-prodigio-pro-review/

Shop the La Sportiva Prodigio Pro: https://alnk.to/6mRuqAT

SWIFTWICK
The best running socks in the game, we're always running in the Flite XT and you should be too. The Drop listeners can get 15% off their first purchase with code BELIEVE15.

Shop here: https://swiftwick.com/collections/believe

LMNT
NEW FLAVOR ALERT! Just in time for summer, LMNT just dropped an all-new Lemonade Salt flavor and it may be their best one yet. We've been crushing it after every run to restore our salt and electrolyte supplies. Get your free 8-count LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase: http://drinklmnt.com/thedrop

INDEX

00:00 - Intro

1:55 - Shoe theft

20:08 - Old school tech talk

28:48 - Epic Water Filters

43:00 - Shoe talk

1:01:00 - Karl’s London Trip

1:09:00 - TV's and Movies, Max Discovery

1:20:00 - Protein chips and Snow Cones

Robbe chats with Henry Abbott, basketball expert and former ESPN journalist, about his new book "Ballistic: The New Science of Injury-Free Athletic Performance," which explores groundbreaking new approaches to athletic training, injury prevention, and enhancing performance using “ballistic” movements. The book reveals a surprising takeaway: The explosive moves and ground impacts we often avoid in everyday workouts might provide the secret to an injury-free athletic life. As you can imagine, we talk about injury, prevention, and what it looks like to reimagine how we assess injury.

Pick up "Ballistic: The New Science of Injury-Free Athletic Performance": https://www.amazon.com/Ballistic-Science-Injury-Free-Athletic-Performance/dp/1324050136

Subscribe to Henry's True Hoop Substack: https://www.truehoop.com/

(Sorry about Robbe's audio on this one, lost the original and had to use the backup.)

Spring marathon season comes to a close, as Thomas and Meaghan run the London Marathon and barely make it back across the Atlantic alive as you'll see in this episode. It's been a real limp to the finish, but we're back and we're ready to relax ...oh wait, Meg heads out on the Move Her Mind tour with ASICS next week and Summer GRIT registration is just around the corner (Memorial Day). Anyway, buckle up and strap on the oxygen mask, you're gonna need it.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

SWIFTWICK

We love Swiftwick socks for their longevity, comfort and performance (Meg and Thomas ran London in them, Robbe never takes them off because he's like that). The Flite XT Crew is a personal favorite, but the Maxus Zero Tab is a can't miss as well.

Try them now and get 15% off by using code BELIEVE15: https://swiftwick.com/collections/believe

PILLAR

Ensuring NN Running athletes continue to take podiums and claim records, PILLAR Performance gets them to start lines in the best condition possible. Recovery is crucial to managing training loads, and adequately preparing for race day. This is why PILLAR's Triple Magnesium provides a high dosage of Magnesium Bisglycinate to boost the recovery score on your wearable.

Enter code BITR on The Feed to receive 15% off your first order, and track the difference yourself: https://thefeed.com/products/pillar-performance

Thomas met Toby Tanser while on his recent trip to Kenya and immediately knew he had to have him on the podcast. Shoe4Africa originated 30 years ago from Toby's vision of harnessing the power of sports to create positive change for African children. Initially focused on collecting and distributing athletic shoes to aspiring young runners in Kenya their efforts expanded to address broader issues, including healthcare and education. Currently operating with only one paid staff member, Shoe4Africa has built East and Central Africa’s first public children’s hospital, which has treated over 1.2 million children. Beyond healthcare, they’ve established six free-to-attend schools, a Boys and Girls Club, and generated hundreds of jobs, all while distributing over 6 million meals to those in need.Learn more about Shoe4Africa: https://shoe4africa.org/Follow Shoe4Africa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shoe4africa/

We've returned from the Super Bowl of running – the 129th Boston Marathon – but first, we made a couple detours to the emergency room and the Cheesecake Factory. for a dose of pain pills and fine dining, respectively. Then it was a slew of events, including an incredible opening night with Adidas, running the B.A.A. 5K, a fun and festive marathon track relay with New Balance, the always epic shakeout with Asics, then front row seats to the best World Major of them all. Thanks to everyone who came out to one or more of the events or said hello at some point during the weekend. And congrats to Crossing-The Finish Karl, Lo, Aubrey, and all the other 28,000+ finishers of the Boston Marathon. It was an amazing sight to see.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

LMNT

It’s warming up, which means you’re sweating more, which means you need more salt. Like, a lot more. Luckily, LMNT has 1000 mg of the stuff, as well as potassium and magnesium. Get your free 8-count LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase: http://drinklmnt.com/thedrop